Christmas At the Shire and New Year's, Too
by luckylifex
Summary: More chapters coming soon! Please R&R!
1. The Gathering

The Gathering  
  
Merry and Pippin had gone out into the forest to find some mushrooms to mix in with the stew they were going to make for dinner. They were having a Christmas get-together with the Fellowship.  
  
"Merry, I found 'em!" Pippin shouted to Merry, who was on the other side of a rather gnarled-looking tree.  
  
Merry came running, scooped up as many 'shrooms as he could carry, and gestured for Pippin to take some too.  
  
"Good eye." Merry said, smiling at Pippin's young face, and Pippin returned it.  
  
They started out of the forest quietly. Pippin looked across the gleaming river and saw a small figure following them, in-step with them. Pippin squinted to try and see them better, but it didn't help.  
  
"Merry, I think someone's following us." Pippin said quietly.  
  
"You're just hungry, Pip. It's your imagination." Merry answered, not turning or slowing down.  
  
Pippin looked back to find the figure was gone. He cocked an eyebrow, and was about to turn around, when he suddenly saw a pale face in front of him.  
  
"Hello, might I join you for a short meal?" the girl said. "I've been running for days."  
  
"Uh," Pippin looked passed the girl to Merry, who seemed not to know the girl was there. "Sure, I guess so."  
  
"Thank you, I'm most grateful." The girl took off her hood, revealing the most beautiful face Pippin had ever seen. She had pale skin, long dark brown hair, and shining young green eyes. She was a bit shorter than himself, and he noticed something instantly. Pointed ears. She was an Elf.  
  
She went to his side, and when he looked over at her, she smiled encouragingly at him, then looked ahead.  
  
"By the way," she said gently, "My name is Alida."  
  
Sam and Frodo had gotten to Merry's house earlier than they expected. They went inside and sat sown on the floor silently.  
  
"When do you think they'll be back?" Frodo asked hopefully.  
  
"'Dunno." Sam answered simply, just as the door creaked open, and the two familiar Hobbits stepped in.   
  
But after Merry and Pippin had come in, another person, a girl, followed shyly after Pippin.  
  
"Merry, Sam, Frodo, this is Alida." Pippin told them.  
  
He stepped aside to reveal a girl shorter than him with long shimmering dark brown hair and bright green eyes. Just then, there was a knock at the door, then several more. Merry strode over to the door and opened it. Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli stepped in. Legolas was the first to greet them.  
  
"Hello, everyone." He looked at the four young Hobbits, then saw Alida.  
  
"I'm Alida," she said before Legolas could speak.  
  
He nodded and smiled warmly at her. She smiled back, but it was a weak smile. Gandalf sat down in his chair, the huge one, and all the little Hobbits sat around it.  
  
"What are you all crowding around me for?" Gandalf asked, but already knowing the answer.  
  
"Oh, come one Gandalf." Aragorn said with a chuckle. "You know they make you do this every year for Christmas."  
  
"Not this year," Gandalf said with a laugh. "I rebel!"  
  
"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease, Gandalf?" said Frodo, his watery blue eyes bigger and bluer than ever.  
  
"Nope," Gandalf said, folding his arms.  
  
"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease, Gandalf?" Pippin pleaded. "Pretty please with sugar on top, and a cherry, and some chocolate syrup, and some almonds, and sprinkles, and-"  
  
"Alright!" said Gandalf holding up his hand to silence Pippin's plead.  
  
He got up and walked up the stairs, and returned a few moments later wearing a stuffed, red Santa suit. He sighed in reluctance and sat down in his chair again as the Hobbits and Legolas clapped gleefully. Frodo and Pippin jumped into Gandalf's lap and stared up at him, each wearing an ear-to-ear grin.  
  
"*Sigh* What do you little Hobbits want for Chirstmas?"  
  
Pippin spoke first. "I want....." he thought for a moment. It looked like hard work for him. Then he said, "I want a double pint!"  
  
"A what?" Gandalf said.  
  
"You know, still a mug that can hold a pint, but DOUBLE, so it can hold more rum." Pippin smiled at him innocently.  
  
Gandalf sighed and turned to Frodo. "And you?"  
  
"I want a girl," Frodo said simply.  
  
"WHAT?!" everyone except Alida exclaimed at Frodo's answer.  
  
"It seems our little Frodo has finally discovered women!" Pippin shouted and nudged Frodo.  
  
Pippin turned around to smile at Alida, only to find that she was gone. He got off of Gandalf and walked through Merry's house. He found her sitting at the kitchen table with a pint-sized mug, filled almost to the brim in her hands.  
  
"What's this?" she asked Pippin.  
  
"That, my friend, is pint." Pippin said smiling at her.  
  
She held the mug to her lips and drank. And drank. And drank. When she put the mug down, it was three quarters empty.  
  
"Wow," Alida said. "That was good. For now."  
  
"Mind if I have the rest?" Pippin asked with a smile.  
  
"Be my guest." Alida said smiling at him. 


	2. Dinner Time!

Dinner Time!  
  
Merry strode into the kitchen, his arms filled with herbs, carrots, mushrooms, and other such foods. Sam followed him, carrying a large turkey. Pippin and Alida exited the kitchen as they entered.  
  
"Oy, Pip, do me a favor, wouldja?" Merry asked as Pipin reached the kitchen door.  
  
Pippin turned. "Aye?"  
  
"Go to the market to get some spiced apples." Merry replied.  
  
Pippin nodded and exited.  
  
"You want to come with me?" Pippin asked, turning to Alida.  
  
"Sure," Alida said with a smile.  
  
They went out the back door and started toward the market silently. When they got there, they walked to the fruitseller. He was talking to someone behind him that Pippin couldn't see.  
  
"S'cuse me," Pippin said to the old Hobbit.  
  
He turned around to look at Pippin and Alida.  
  
"One second," he said, and turned around and began talking to the person behind him.  
  
Pippin and Alida waited for at least twenty minutes.  
  
"Look, sir, we're in a wee bit of a hurry."  
  
The old Hobbit turned and seemed to be growing angry at their impatience.  
  
"If you're in a hurry, take your little Elf girl somewhere else."  
  
Alida turned and looked the other way when the old bag looked at her.  
  
"Just give us a dozen spiced apples and we'll be on our way."  
  
The old Hobbit grunted and tossed a bag on the counter.  
  
"Take the blasted apples and leave."  
  
Pippin grabbed the bag and they scuttled down the road, out of the old Hobbit's sight. On the way back, the temperature dropped as it got darker and snow began to fall. When Pippin opened the door, Merry practically jumped him.  
  
"Thanks a bunch, Pip." he said as he entered the kitchen.   
  
"No problem." Pippin said as he hung his cloak over the rack near the door.  
  
He walked casually into the living room and plopped down on the sofa, Alida following him. They talked and listened to Pippin tell stories about pranks he'd pulled on the elders when he was a tween and all the pranks he still wanted to pull on them. He told funny jokes that made everyone laugh, even Gandalf, who rarely laughed at one of Pippin's jokes. Pippin was glad that Alida had become more comfortable and open with everyone.  
  
"Dinner time!" Merry called from the kitchen.  
  
Everyone got up and strode in the kitchen and took a seat at the long oak table. The food looked spectacular. There was Vegetable Stew, everyone's favorite, except for Alida's as she was used to eating Elven food. There were yams and potatoes (Sam's favorite) and freshly cooked fish. And in the center of the table, was the biggest turkey anyone had ever seen.  
  
"Merry, the food looks wonderful." Frodo complimented, then stuffed his mouth full of mashed potatoes.  
  
"Took almost three hours to make." Merry said proudly as he too occupied his hunger with potatoes.  
  
They talked and laughed and ate a lot. After a half hour, Pippin asked Merry "Oy, where's the rum?"  
  
"Gotchya covered." Merry said with a smug smile as he pulled a box onto his lap. He passed everyone a goblet, then took out a giant jug filled with rum.  
  
Everyone cheered. Gandalf, realizing it was already eleven thirty at night, wanted some peace and quiet.  
  
"Legolas, Hobbits, Alida! It's eleven thirty already!"  
  
They all gasped, then Legolas said "Make haste, Hobbits! Santa will be here soon!"  
  
They trudged up the stairs and then there was silence.  
  
"A bit cruel of you, isn't it, Gandalf?" Aragorn said with a grin.  
  
"Work's every year!" Gandalf chuckled. "Now, let's just get these presents under the tree and get to bed!" 


	3. Say It Ain't So!

Pippin lay anxiously in his bed, almost bouncing out of excitement. He turned over, glad to see that absolutely no one was asleep. Legolas sat straight up, shaking from excitement.  
  
"I can't wait till morning!" he whispered happily.  
  
"Me neither!" Pippin whispered back excitedly.  
  
"Oooh, I just want to see him for myself," Merry said, joining the conversation.  
  
"Who?" Frodo asked, turning over to face him.  
  
"Santa, of course!" Merry replied.  
  
There was an awkward silence, Merry wishing he hadn't said anything.  
  
"Me too!" Pippin added.  
  
"Come to think of it," Sam grumbled through his pillow, "it would be kind of nice to see him."  
  
Alida turned over at the sound of her friends' voices.  
  
"What's going on?" she said tiredly.  
  
"We're going to see Santa, young one!" Legolas whispered to her excitedly, standing, but being careful not to be too loud.  
  
"Really?" Alida asked, her eyes widening with excitement.  
  
Frodo nodded, his blue eyes shining so brightly that they were all you could easily see through the darkness as he stood. The four Hobbits and two Elves all stood noiselessly and crept down the wooden stairs, but what they saw next was quite unexpected.  
  
Gandalf was bent over the tree, but still in his red Santa suit that no one recognized him.  
  
"There he is, Hobbits!" Legolas whispered, almost ecstatic.  
  
Gandalf froze in his place when he heard Legolas' voice. He sighed and put the gift down and turned around.  
  
"No, young Hobbits and Elves. It is I."  
  
They all gasped, their face expressions totally changing.  
  
"You mean..." Merry said, his lip beginning to tremble. "It's been Gandalf all along?" "Gandalf is Santa?" Pippin asked, on the verge of crying.  
  
"Say it ain't so!" Frodo said, also on the edge of crying like Pippin.  
  
"I won't believe it!" Sam and Legolas said in unison.  
  
[*gasp* What will Gandalf do?!?! How will the Hobbits and Legolas handle this horrible news?! Ha ha! Well, you're just gonna have to hang around till the next chapter is up! Bwa ha ha!  
  
~Manda] 


	4. The Wish of a Fangirl

Halfway across the world, one lonely Lord of the Rings fangirl sat on her bed on the eve of Christmas.  
  
"If my one wish was granted," said the fangirl hopefully, "I would want all the Elves of Middle Earth to become chibi! *sigh* That would be the greatest thing of all..."  
  
The fangirl then fell onto her bed and swiftly fell into a deep sleep.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*Back to Middle Earth*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Legolas was just about the walk down the stairs, when the clock struck midnight and something odd began to happen. It seemed as if Legolas, along with Alida, began to shrink. In another minute they were both small and...chibi.  
  
"What the--" Legolas said as he looked at himself. "I'm, I'm...CHIBI!"  
  
Gandalf gasped. "Some creepy fangirl must have made the inunwishable wish that all Elves of Middle Earth were chibi!"  
  
"So, what does that mean?" Alida asked, not even being able to get up the stairs without using her short chibi arms.  
  
"It means that we and the rest of the Elves are stuck like this until we find that fangirl and tell her to unwish that wish!" Legolas said, catching his breath afterwards.  
  
"I can track where the wish came from," Gandalf said, "with my cool old man wizard powers."  
  
Just then, Aragorn came down the stairs, and he would've stepped on Alida had she not squeaked madly.  
  
"What's going on?" Aragorn asked tiredly, staring down at the chibi Alida.  
  
"A fangirl made the inunwishable wish," Legolas said.  
  
Aragorn gasped. "You mean...All of the Elves are..."  
  
"Yup," Pippin said, "chibi."  
  
Aragorn jumped over the rail of the stairs and ran out the door screaming "ARWEN!!!!" They watched him through the open door, and saw gardening tools being thrown at his head as he ran down the road towards the front gate of the Shire.  
  
Gandalf found his staff and hit the ceiling with it three times, then closed his eyes. A moment later, he opened them again, looking at Legolas, Alida, and the four Hobbits.  
  
"It came from the United States of America." he said quietly.  
  
"The U.S. of A?" Merry asked. "But that's halfway around the world!"  
  
"Yes, young Hobbit, it is." Gandalf agreed, nodding his head."  
  
"How will we get there?" Frodo asked.  
  
"Yeah, how will we get there?" Sam asked.  
  
"Is there an echo in here?" Gandalf asked sarcastically, noting that the Hobbits hadn't picked up his little joke. He sighed, shook his head, then said "There is only one way to get there. By the magic of..."  
  
The six on the stairs all held their breath.  
  
"We can only reach the U.S.A. by the magic of...WEED!" Gandalf finished dramatically.  
  
"Weed?" Legolas asked.  
  
"WEED!" Pippin and Merry said happily in unison, looking at each other.  
  
"How will smoking weed help us, Gandalf?" Frodo asked.  
  
"Well, I was just joking about that," Gandalf confessed with a chuckle.  
  
"So, no weed?" Pippin asked with a frown.  
  
"No weed." Gandalf said, smiling at Merry and Pippin. "We will have to fly there on a dragon. That is the fastest way."  
  
"Cool!" Frodo said excitedly. "We get to ride a dragon!"  
  
"Silence!" Gandalf whispered hoarsely. "We don't want to wake the Dwarf and have to have him come along.  
  
Then all of them noiselessly walked out the door.S 


End file.
